Concrete forming machine



March 10, 1964 Filed June 20, 1962 J. H. PERLMUTTER ETAL CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I4 '2 F/Q. Z.

INVENTORS.

JACK H. PERL/MUTTER 'RUBEN HAR'ME/STE/'P March 10, 1964 J. H. PERLMUTTER ETAL 3,123,872

CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Filed June 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR ,JACK H. PE/PLMUTTER RUBEN J. HRTME/STER March 10, 1964 J. H. PERLMUTTER ETAL 3,123,872

CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Filed June 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 e4 55 44- 58 56 46",'. :a: :a: 43 57 I N VEN TOR.

JACK h'. PERL/MUTTER RUBEN J. HARTME/STEH 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I J. H. PERLMUTTER ETAL CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE March 10, 1964 Filed June 2o, 1962 INV ENTORS. JAC/f H. PELMU'TE RUBEN J 'P TME/STER BY mi ArroR/i/Ey March 10, 1964 J. H. PERLMUTTER ETAL 3,123,872

CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Filed June 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS. JACK H PERL/MUTTER RUBEN J HARTME/STEH ATTORNEY United States Patent Oilice 3,123,872 CONCRETE FRMNG MACHENE Jael: H. Perlmutter, Denver, and Ruben J. Hartmelster,

Golden, Colo., assigncrs to Prestressed Concrete of Colorado, lne., Benver, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Filed Enne Ztl, 1962, Ser. No. 203,874

6 Claims. (Cl. 22-41) This invention relates to concrete forming machines. In the embodiment shown, the machine is designed to form long slabs of prestressed concrete provided wlth longitudinally extending vertical ribs. The slabs are cast in one peice, approximately 300 feet long and eight feet wide, but the machine is readily adaptable for forming slabs of other dimensions and cross sectional shape. When sawed into desired lengths, the slabs are used as ceilings having integral oor sustainers in building construction.

Prestressing of concrete is well known. Metal rods or cables, at least as long as the concrete members to be cast, are put under tension and the concrete is poured over and around the prestressing means and allowed to set. The concrete and metal become bound together and the rods or cables remain under tension after they have been released from the tensioning means and 4after the concrete slabs, including the metal, have been cut into shorter lengths. It is desirable also to reinforce such slabs with wire mesh embedded in the main body of the slab, between the lower surface thereof and the base of the ribs which rise from the slab. The machine of our invention is particularly efficient for forming concrete slabs thus reinforced and prestressed.

The main object `of the invention is to produce a forming machine for casting prestressed concrete slabs of predetermined shape while the machine is moving longitudinally of a supporting bed on which the concrete is poured; which is speedy in operation and eicient for its intended purposes; and provide-d with novel means for compacting the concrete uniformly throughout the structure.

Concrete forming machines provided with compacting mechanism operable in a horizontal direction parallel to the major dimension of the concrete structure being formed are incapable of producing uniform compaction due to the fact that they are limited in operation to applying pressure to only that portion of the concrete located in horizontal planes above the reinforcing mesh and prestressing cables. Machines equipped with compacting devices which extend across the machine and move in vertical planes are limited in operation to applying pressure to the upper region above the prestressing means which preferably are located in the vertical ribs above the main body of the slab and thus prevent compaction pressure to be applied or uniformly transmitted to the entire concrete structure.

The forming machine herein shown and described is provided with concrete compacting mechanism designed to apply and transmit compacting pressures uniformly throughout the concrete notwithstanding variations in thickness and regardless of the cross sectional shape of the structure being cast; to automatically apply compacting pressures to zones of the structure less dense than adjacent zones; and to transmit vibr-atory movement to the forms employed in the machine to augment the action of compacting devices, whereby maximum and uniform density of the nished product is attained.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is an elevational side view of a concrete forming machine embodying our invention. The solid lines show the operative positions of the forms and compacting 3,123,872 Patented Mar. 10, 1964 means, some of which have been omitted in the pivotally raised positions of the parts shown in broken lines.

FIG. 2 is an elevational front view.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the machine showing also the bed on which it travels, the broken away portions of the finished product at the rear lof the machine, and the reinforcing mesh and prestressing cables supported above the bed at the `front of the machine.

PIG. 4 is an elevational rear View.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal Vertical sectional view in the plane of the line 5--5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the compacting means shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is `a plan View of the compacting means on a smaller scale than FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of a pre-` stressed concrete slab with vertical ribs which may be cast by the machine of our invention.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the concrete forming machine is designed to produce a structure known in the trade as a double twin T, but obviously products of other cross sectional shape and dimensions may be produced by changing the forms mounted in the machine.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the cast prestressed concrete product comprises a slab 10 and four integral vertical ribs 11 designed, respectively, to serve as a ceiling and iloor sustainers in building construction. The slab 10 is reinforced by wire mesh 12 and the concrete is prestressed by rods or cables 13. Only one cable 13 located in each rib 11 near its junction with the slab 10 is shown but usually we employ a group of `four strands 13 in each rib 11 near the location shown. The concrete is cast on a bed 14 `of concrete vor other suitable material having a smooth flat top treated to make the newly cast structure non-adhering. The bed has tracks for the machine and is of such 'area that it supports a prestressed slab as well as the machine which travels longitudinally of the bed.

Certain parts of the machine are shown diagrammatically and may vary in form land location. They include hydraulic mechanism and motors which actuate the moving parts of the machine and need not be described.

The machine comprises a main frame 15, wheels 16, concrete hopper 17, mixing paddles 18 on horizontal rotated shaft 19 in hopper 17, endless conveyor 20 for receiving concrete from the hopper, sprockets 21, 22 for driving the conveyor, shield 23 and levers 24 for operating discharge means associated with the hopper.

A large reel 25 carries the cable which supplies electrical power to the several motors 26. A circular saw 27 shielded at 28 is mounted on the rear of the machine by any suitable means 29 to travel transversely of the machine on a screw shaft 30 rotated by motor 31.

inwardly of the wheels 16, the machine frame 15 has mounted thereon at each side a pair of links 32 provided With a series of apertures 33, as best shown in FIG. 6. A shaft 34 mounted in opposite apertures in the lower ends of the links 32 extends transversely of the machine across the bed 14, and has numerous small rollers 35 rotatably mounted thereon for supporting the wire mesh 12. The apertures 33 provide means for mounting the roller shaft 34 in adjusted position to raise or lower the wire mesh 12 supported thereon as may be required for slabs of different thicknesses.

The concrete compacting means, the forms employed for shaping the product, and the means for vibrating the forms are carried by an auxiliary frame 40 which extends longitudinally of the machine at each side, inwardly of and adjacent to the main frame members 15.

The auxiliary frame 40 is pivotally Connected at 41 to the main frame 15 as shownin FIGS. 1 and 6. In FIG. l, the parts carried by the auxiliary frame 40 are shown in full lines in their operating positions, and the frame 40 with form vibrating means is also shown in pivotally raised position in dotted lines, but some of the parts Carried by the frame 40 have been omitted for sake of clarity in the dotted line position of the parts. Hydraulically operated mechanism for raising and lowering the auxiliary frame 40 about its pivotal connection 41 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, but any suitable means may be employed for moving the auxiliary frame to the positions shown in full and dotted lines in said figure.

The forms 42 required for shaping the concrete to produce the product shown in FIG. 8 are tive in number as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The forms are spaced apart to receive between them the concrete which constitutes the vertical ribs 11, and they are spaced from the bed 14 suiciently to form a slab 10 of predetermined thickness. The forward face 43 of each form 42 preferably is inclined as shown in FIGS. and 6.

The forms 42 are open at their rear faces as shown in FIG. 4 and are connected to frames 44 supported on the pivoted auxiliary frames 40. Vibrating mechanism for each form 42 comprises an idler pulley 4S, motor driven pulley 46 and pulley 47 connected by belt 48, the pulley 47 being fixed on a shaft 49 rotatably supported by sleeve 50 on the floor of the form 42, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. An unbalanced weight in the form of Cam 51 rotated by shaft 49 imparts vibratory motion to the forward portion of each form 42.

The concrete compacting mechanism, in this embodiment of the invention, comprises four sets of Compactors designed to compact the concrete in the regions between the forms 42 which shape the ribs 11 of the finished product, and five sets of Compactors designed to compact the concrete which forms the slab. The compacting mechanism is fully shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the plan view, FIG. 3, some of the compacting devices have been omitted for sake of clarity.

Four groups of Compactors, designated 55 as a whole, are especially designed to compact Concrete located between the forms 42. Each group comprises a casing 56 containing hydraulic mechanism for reciprocating in axial directions a shaft 57 mounted in a downwardly inclined position. A plate 58 is fixedly mounted on the free end of the shaft 57. Each plate 58 has loosely mounted therein a plurality of shafts 59, six in number in this embodiment, by nuts 60. Compacting devices 61 round in cross section, and larger in diameter than the shafts 59, are rigidly connected to the lower ends of said shafts. Springs 62 surround the shafts 59 and bear on the end surface 63 of the Compactors 61 and on the lower surface of the plate 58. The lower ends of the Compactors 61 are rounded as shown. Reciprocatory movement of the shaft 57 in a downwardly inclined direction moves the Compactors 61 into compacting Contact with the concrete dropped from the conveyor 20 onto the shield 64 (FIGS. 1 and 6) and thence on the bed 14 forwardly of the inclined surfaces 43 of the forms 42. The four groups of Compactors 61 extend into the concrete between the forms 42 and compact the material which constitutes the ribs 11 of the finished product.

An important feature of the described construction is the loose fit of the shafts 59 in the holes 65 in the plate 58, which permits the Compactors to wabble in response to non-uniform resistance encountered by the devices 61 in passing into the concrete body. When the Compactors 61 are reciprocated in the direction of their axes, and compaction of the Concrete has occurred in initially contacted zones of the material, the Compactors automatically seek the paths of least resistance in subsequent movements and travel in paths at slight angles to the axis of the shaft 57. This results in compacting material not previously compacted, and contributes to the uniform compaction and maximum density of the product. The location of the groups of Compactors 61 and their movement in inclined directions between the forms 42, beyond the faces 43 of said forms, results in compaction of concrete not accessible to prior art compacting means, and, further, permits the Compactors to apply and transmit pressure to concrete located between and in planes below the prestressing cables 13.

The Compactors designated 55 as a whole may be hydraulically actuated individually or as a group by single actuating means, although shown herein as being separately hydraulically controlled.

The compacting means designated 70 as a whole comprise hydraulic mechanism in a casing 71 for reciprocating a shaft 72 in axial inclined directions. The shaft 72 is rigidly connected to a block 73 connected to a cross bar 74 shown as an angle bar which supports a series of similar blocks 73. A shaft 75 is loosely mounted in each block 73 and has connected rigidly to its lower end a at relatively wide compacter 76. Springs 77 are coiled around the shafts 75 and have ends bearing on the end surface 78 of the compacter 76 and on the lower surface of the angle bar 74. The loose mounting of the shafts 75 in the holes 80 in supporting blocks 73 enables the Compactors 76 to wabble as heretofore described with respect to the Compactors 61, and automatically to seek different paths of least resistance in passing into the con- Crete.

The compacting devices 76 are especially designed to compress the material which forms the body of the slab 10. Due to their location, shape and size, the lower pointed ends 79 extend down to the wire mesh 12, and the Compactors 76 pass downwardly between prestressing cables 13 to completely and uniformly apply and transmit compacting pressures to the concrete.

The compaction produced by the mechanisms 55 and 7) is augmented by the vibration of the forms 42, resulting in a uniformly compacted product of maximum density. Another advantage of the construction is speedy operation and completion of the product. For example, a slab of the Construction shown, 8 feet wide, 300 feet long and 9 inches high, containing 600 cubic feet of Concrete, can be Cast by the described machine in one hour. For this purpose the machine travels 5 feet per minute. This rate of production is substantially greater than that of other machines known to applicants.

Changes may be made in details of construction and in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A bed supported traveling type Concrete forming machine for forming long slabs of mesh reinforced concrete having vertical longitudinally extending ribs rising from the slab and prestressing cables located in the ribs, comprising (a) a wheel supported main frame adapted to travel longitudinally on a bed,

(b) an auxiliary frame pivotally mounted on the main frame,

(c) a plurality of transversely spaced forms carried by the auxiliary frame and supported above and in spaced relation to the bed, the spaces between the forms being adapted to receive rib forming concrete and the spaces beneath the forms being adapted to receive slab forming Concrete,

(d) means depositing concrete on the bed forwardly of the forms,

(e) a plurality of first Concrete compacting mechanisms mounted on the auxiliary frame, each comprising Compactors extending in inclined downward rearward direction into rib forming concrete located between the forms and at opposite sides of prestressing cables embeded in the concrete, and;

means reciprocating said Compactors in axial directions while the machine is traveling over the bed,

(f) a plurality of second concrete compacting mechanisms mounted on the auxiliary frame, each adjacent a iirst compacting mechanism, and each comprising a compactor extending in inclined downward rearward direction into the slab forming concrete, and means reciprocating said Compactors in axial directions while the machine is traveling on the bed, and

(g) means on the frame supporting reinforcing mesh in a plane between the forms and the bed.

2. The concrete forming machine defined by claim 1, in which the forms and the compacting mechanisms are moved to inoperative positions when the auxiliary frame is moved pivotally upwardly, and are moved to operative positions when the auxiliary frame is moved pivotally downwardly.

3. The concrete forming machine defined by claim 1, in which each of said first concrete compacting mechanisms comprises (a) a reciprocated shaft,

(b) a plate mounted on the lower end of the reciprocated shaft at right angles to the shaft,

(c) a plurality of small diameter shafts loosely mounted in the plate,

(d) a compacting device connected to the lower end of each of the small diameter shafts, and

(e) yielding means between the compacting devices and said plate,

whereby said compacting devices and small diameter shafts wabble in response to non-uniform resistance encountered by the Compactors in passing into the concrete.

4. The concrete forming machine defined by claim l,

in which each of said second concrete compacting mechanisms comprises (a) a reciprocated support, (b) a shaft having its upper end loosely mounted in the support, (c) a relatively wide ilat compacting device connected to the lower end of the shaft, and (d) yielding means between the compacting device and said support,

whereby said compacting device and shaft wabble in response to non-uniform resistance encountered by the Compactors in passing into the concrete. 5. The concrete forming machine defined by claim 1,

in which each of the forms is a box-like structure having a floor, a downwardly forwardly inclined front face, and open at its rear, and vibrating mechanism for vibrating the form mounted on said floor.

6. The concrete forming machine defined by claim l,

in which the means on the main frame supporting reinforcing mesh in a plane between the forms and the bed comprises (a) apertured links depending from the main frame, (b) shafts extending across the machine and having 

1. A BED SUPPORTED TRAVELING TYPE CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE FOR FORMING LONG SLABS OF MESH REINFORCED CONCRETE HAVING VERTICAL LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RIBS RISING FROM THE SLAB AND PRESTRESSING CABLES LOCATED IN THE RIBS, COMPRISING (A) A WHEEL SUPPORTED MAIN FRAME ADAPTED TO TRAVEL LONGITUDINALLY ON A BED, (B) AN AUXILIARY FRAME PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE MAIN FRAME, (C) A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED FORMS CARRIED BY THE AUXILIARY FRAME AND SUPPORTED ABOVE AND IN SPACED RELATION TO THE BED, THE SPACES BETWEEN THE FORMS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE RIB FORMING CONCRETE AND THE SPACES BENEATH THE FORMS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SLAB FORMING CONCRETE, (D) MEANS DEPOSITING CONCRETE ON THE BED FORWARDLY OF THE FORMS, (E) A PLURALITY OF FIRST CONCRETE COMPACTING MECHANISMS MOUNTED ON THE AUXILIARY FRAME, EACH COMPRISING COMPACTORS EXTENDING IN INCLINED DOWNWARD REARWARD DIRECTION INTO RIB FORMING CONCRETE LOCATED BETWEEN THE FORMS AND AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF PRESTRESSING CABLES EMBEDED IN THE CONCRETE, AND MEANS RECIPROCATING SAID COMPACTORS IN AXIAL DIRECTIONS WHILE THE MACHINE IS TRAVELING OVER THE BED, (F) A PLURALITY OF SECOND CONCRETE COMPACTING MECHANISMS MOUNTED ON THE AUXILIARY FRAME, EACH ADJACENT A FIRST COMPACTING MECHANISM, AND EACH COMPRISING A COMPACTOR EXTENDING IN INCLINED DOWNWARD REARWARD DIRECTION INTO THE SLAB FORMING CONCRETE, AND MEANS RECIPROCATING SAID COMPACTORS IN AXIAL DIRECTIONS WHILE THE MACHINE IS TRAVELING ON THE BED, AND (G) MEANS ON THE FRAME SUPPORTING REINFORCING MESH IN A PLANE BETWEEN THE FORMS AND THE BED. 